The orphan system of Onzar was fuming under its leader's driving, paranoid megalomania. For there was a prize. A vast, grand prize within a parsec of this ambitious domain—the major warp-lines of space crossing the Galaxy between the Allied Worlds and the Darzent Empire. Skyward, hungry legions!

The coordinates on the lat-don dial had almost lined up, though the forest was still completely unbroken below. A few hundred meters to the right and he had it. Thane let the anti-grav hover for a moment, and then dropped silently downward. Branches of spruce brushed against the plastic cabin as the anti-grav settled into the forest. It gently settled on a thin layer of powder snow. There was nothing but the silence of the forest, broken only by the thin sound of the wind in the branches above.

He stepped out, breathing in the cold, crisp air. He started off through the forest using the unfamiliar Terran compass. One hundred twenty meters, azimuth 273 (difficult to maintain through the trees) and he would come, according to his directions, to a tree a little different from the rest. He continued, with the brittle snow tinkling faintly under his feet.

Then a new sound. Once ... again ... then a repeated volley. Stoltz guns. From the tone, h

Thane is a secret agent for the Alliance (of Earth planets) who is assigned to protect an Onzar scientist working on a new warp drive in Norway from agents of his own world.
Onzar is a breakaway Earth colony ruled by a powermad dictator. It just happens to be located near where the galaxy's warp lines converge, and will be vital in the coming galactic war with the ruthless Darzent Empire.
Then, a bunch of stuff happens.
Not a bad story. It's plot-driven, rather than character-driven, and is written better than most space operas. Three and a half stars.

Download

Featured Books

Donate a small amount via Paypal below or read about some other ways that you can support ManyBooks.